LEWISTON – After three-and-a-half years as a downtown eatery, Manic Cafe is closing.

The news came as a shock to the restaurant’s 10 employees, who were told of the decision Monday. The restaurant will be open through today.

“I just hate to see this happening,” said Monique Langis, manager of the restaurant and one of its original employees. “You get so attached to everybody.”

According to a letter posted at the restaurant and written by CEO Linda Hertell, she made the difficult decision based on insufficient foot traffic to sustain the business.

In the letter, she said that “The financial reality is that there currently is just not enough foot traffic on Lisbon Street to give us the walk-in customer traffic we need.

“We do a great lunch business and are thankful for our many loyal friends and supporters, but the rest of the time is a struggle,” she said.

The cafe was open Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and open until midnight on Friday and Saturday. It began featuring live entertainment on the weekends to encourage business, but the effort didn’t take off. The restaurant was known for its funky atmosphere and quirky retail offerings that included organic chocolates, handmade bow ties and offbeat geegaws.

Manic moved into its current location at 114 Lisbon St. seven months ago after three years at its original location a block away. At the time of the move, Hertell said Lisbon Street didn’t have the foot traffic to sustain a lot of restaurants, but she predicted that would change.

“Lisbon Street is going to wake up and become alive,” she said at the time. “And that will ripple down our way.”

In her letter, Hertell acknowledged the restaurant’s commitment to being part of the downtown revitalization, but said circumstances had changed and for “personal reasons, we need to make this difficult business decision.”

Manic is the fifth eatery to fold at that location in the last 10 years. The Legal Eagle closed there in February. Owner Brian Kendall cited a lack of downtown foot traffic, as well.

Manic Cafe is affiliated with Richardson Hollow Associates Inc., a provider of mental health services in the area. In a phone interview, Hertell said she was planning to use the Lisbon Street location as expanded space for the mental health business. She expects to operate the adult mental health case management program there.

She also has offered positions in Richardson Hollow to the displaced Manic Cafe staff. Staff at the restaurant were making between $8 and $14 an hour with full benefits. She acknowledged that her compensation package was more expensive than that offered by the typical food service business, but it was a reflection of her philosophy that all workers should be respected and treated with dignity.

“But it’s a hard philosophy to live by in retail,” she said.